West Park Lunatic Asylum

Urban Exploration uk

Referred to by David Cochrane as "the eleventh and the last great asylum built for London's insane" West Park Asylum sits derelict between Epsom and Horton. built by William C Clifford Smith between 1912 and 1921 the asylum is of the Villa Design with an impressive admin block at the front and two storey wards coming off the sides in an almost symmetrical way one side female and one side male. At one time the Asylum housed 2045 patients.

The Site became completely closed apart from a small section at the rear in 2003 after around 5 years of running down.

I first visited West Park when I was around the age of 14. The asylum at this time was not vandalised or decaying in any way, however my memory of this is not very good.

I then returned in November 2005 with various people from www.28dayslater.co.uk. The trip was a tranquil one which is the only way I can describe how I felt that day. the whole of the grounds were overgrown and there was a feeling of calm and relaxation.

We entered the Grounds and were immediately stunned by how the buildings looked. They were stunning and you could still make out how they would have looked before nature had reclaimed them. Each building had a different decor and set out, with some being more modern than others. However each ward had a surprising amount of equipment still there. As we looked around the wards we started to discover patients personal belongings hidden away in rooms, such as scrap books, photos and even their patient notes.

The main hall was my main aim for the trip and once we reached our goal I stood for a minute and took it in. The remains after the arson attack look like some weird art project. The roof is non existent and bits of timber swing precariously from tiny nails. Despite the arson the beauty still shines through the black burnt wood and you can imagine what it would have been like before.

The projector room was our next target with a nice walkway made from broken planks we made our way across. Inside stood two large 1920`s projectors ready to show the matinee film to the patients. As we headed off to another ward we walked through the long almost never ending walkways which join the whole hospital together meaning you never need to go outside into the outside world. We then reached another ward and found a room full of old clothes and belongings including the West Park Hospital Cheque book. Then further along hidden away in a back corridor we came across an innocent looking door which opened up to a padded cell. The atmosphere surrounding the cell was an eerie one with one of my friends finding it hard to take in but then again the same can be said of many areas of an asylum.

The rest of west park is a tranquil place where nature has reclaimed the buildings with ivy growing up the walls and into the windows and grass growing out the floor. Rabbits and foxes roam freely along the corridors and owls swoop down in the hall. Three deer have been spotted and startle explorers outside the admin block on regular occasions.

I have returned to West Park seven times and each time I have found something new. My collection of photos are a document to one of the most amazing places ever to be built and forgotten. West Park has now been sold and looks like it may be converted in the very near future. Security has been stepped up and access is near enough impossible ;).

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